Inglot's 973 Nail polish Vs Chanel's Khaki Rose

Walking around Inglot the other day, this little bottle of nail polish in the Brown Collection caught my eye. I thought it was very similar to another nail polish I had seen advertised, Chanel's Khaki Rose. The two colours are extremely similar and I'm wondering whether I have a dupe (said very quietly) on my hands?

Khaki Rose by the way is not due for release until mid September.

Both colours look very similar and without having a bottle of Khaki Rose in my hand, the only difference I can say is Inglot's 973 might be just a touch darker.

Both are pretty colours and remind me of a steaming mug of milky hot chocolate. Inglot is priced round about £7, whereas Chanel will be more than twice as much, so it may make a handy alternative.

I tried the polish on and I can say that there were no problems in application. The first coat was a little streaky, but the second coat sorted that out. And it was extremely quick drying, I didn't even have to on put my trusted OPI Rapidry Spray.

What do you think? Do you agree they look similar?

So Paradoxal? Whats it all about?

So I've jumped on the Paradoxal bandwagon and yes I know I'm a few weeks late, but I just have to put in my two pence worth as well. I don't normally follow hype and this was another impulse purchase for me in Selfridges (I need to stay away from that place, too many impulse purchases!). I saw it, swatched it and thought 'ooh nice, but do I want it?' Knowing that they had sold out of it within hours, I asked the sales assistant if they had any, fully expecting her to say no. That would have been the end of it for me. But she said yes, so without thinking I said 'ok then I'll have it!'

Its been sitting around for a few weeks and it finally came out of the box today and on looking at it again, my heart literally skipped a bit and the five year old in whispered 'its so magical.'  I mean, come on, its a nail polish and I am three times older! I slapped it on quickly, but of course with due respect to make sure I didn't flood my cuticles or side walls. A colour like this HAS to be respected!

And ooh how I love it! I love the purple dredgeyness (yes this is a word, MY word) of it. I love its murky brownish greyish tones, reminding me of a dirty river. I love the shimmer in it, that you can only catch in certain lights. Its like the Chelsea Harbour lights bouncing off the Thames at night. It had me running around the house trying to see how much shimmer I could catch. I can't believe a polish is making me run as I NEVER run, not even if I'm late for work. The risk of falling on my tush is too high, but here I am running up and down stairs for the sake of Paradoxal.

Ahem, back to the polish. Its £16.50 and for me, it was well worth the money and it has made me extremely happy. And for something I wasn't too bothered about, I certainly have fell for it big time! I don't care if it only lasts one day, or chips or peels, applying it is where all the fun is at and even if I only get one day out of it, its one day of me being EXTREMELY happy!

ps: please do not begrudge me the amount of pictures I put on this post. It's just love!

The Make Up Store: A quick visit

Grumpy with tired feet and sore arms from a day of shopping, I made a last stop at The Make Up store in Westfield, not expecting to be wowed in anyway. I had heard of them before but not tried their products and so I wasn't expecting much. Well now I'll eat my words, because I was wowed with a lot of what they had. 

From what I remember the store was well laid out, with eye products and blushers on one side and foundations, powders, lipsticks and pencils on the other. Even though it wasn't the largest of stores, there was enough space for me to manoeuvre, without thinking I was going to knock something down with my bags.

The sales assistant was refreshing. She knew about all the products in the store and seemed to have a genuine interest in make up. You could tell she paid attention during training. She was very helpful and answered all my testing questions, obviously not knowing that I'm a make up artist myself.

I didn't have enough time to delve into all the products, but the ones I tried I really liked and in my eyes it was all on the same price point as MAC (eyeshadows £11, liquid foundation £21). I sense some competition there. So if you're bored of MAC and want to try something else along the same lines and price point, try the Make Up Store. There were a lot of similar products and quite a bit that are especially catered to a working make up artist e.g. Mixing Medium,  skin neutralisers, multi use high shine cream bases, false eyelashes and crystals.


There were lots of cutesy products too, make up bags, tweezers, sharpeners, nail polish, eyelash curlers....the list is endless. The place to be if you like bits and bobs. According to their booklet, they also offer make up courses, which I think would be quite interesting to try out.


I will be making a special visit to the store in the next couple of weeks and taking my time to look through all their products. I really think they are worth it.  I bought a blusher and an eyeshadow that I really liked when I swatched, and a review will soon be coming up on them. 

I cannot finish this post without a mention of their candles. They simply smelt divine and wouldn't look out of place in any bedroom or lounge. So if there's a Make Up Store near you, don't dismiss it, you'll be surprised what you could find in there!

Beauty College Chronicles: Week Three

Only one day at college this week, due to the Monday bank holiday.

I was very excited because I missed the direct high frequency facial practical the week before. Excitement stopped when I realised that I also had a galvanic facial at the end of the day. So two electrical facials in one day. I was not impressed. For one, a facial is recommended every four weeks, so to have two electrical facials in one day, was bordering on slight madness as for as I was concerned. Plus I remember the damage done when I did my Level 2 beauty therapy and had facials every other day for six weeks.

Lucky for me, I pipped first to carry out the facial on my partner and as I set up the machine, it looked very ominous with its different types of glass tubes and mushroom heads. Felt like I was setting up for some kind of electrocution. So partner on couch, I did a regular facial, but cut the massage down by ten minutes, so I could use the rest of the time to apply the direct high frequency.

Boy was I scared...I was going to apply electricity to someones face to cleanse it and the fear of shocking her meant I forgot to breathe.  In the end, I just went for it, I put the mushroom head on her face, turned on the machine and whacked the current up. The electricity shot through the glass tubing in a purple glow and whirred, quite loudly might I add. For a facial it didn't sound relaxing. It was all very Doctor Who'esque'.

Glass Mushroom Heads, Zapper at the top of image

I also had to use the Zapper (yes its called a Zapper) to dehydrate her spots. This helps to dry out the spot and cleanse bacteria from the area. The Zapper is a long thin glass tube that has an electric current flowing through it. Again, it looked like a torture device so I was apprehensive. Very gingerly, I hoovered the Zapper over the spot and the current flowed out and zapped it. Literally. You can actually see the purple spark when the current hits the spot. I could see my partner wincing, so I stopped after two zaps. But I'm glad to say, I didn't once shock her during her treatment. Unlike her, who shocked me and left me sitting bolt upright, saying things I really shouldn't say in a learning environment.

Lunch was a welcome relief and I went for a stroll on Oxford Street to entertain myself (i.e. shop!) and get myself all relaxed and ready for the galvanic facial. Due to the 'shockgate' incident, I arranged to change partners as the galvanic facial doesn't only electrocute if used incorrectly, it can also burn the skin quite deeply, like a cigarette burn.

A Galvanic Machine

For those of you who don't know a galvanic machine in its simplest form, it increases the absorption of products into the skin and generally increases the efficiency of any treatment. There are two versions for oily skin or dry skin to either cleanse or help rehydrate skin and then allow products to penetrate into the inner most layers of the skin. It is used with various gels to either cleanse, calm, rehydrate or firm skin. There are many more types of gel as well, depending on what you want to achieve.

Lucky for me, again I pipped up first, so I performed the galvanic to my partner, thus avoiding it having it done to me. Yippee! Happy to report, nothing extraordinary happen, no shocks or electrocutions. It'll be my turn next week to lay on the couch.

And that was the end of all the fun and games for the day! Next week, more tales from practicals and two exams to talk about!

Friday Favourites: Eye Primer

This week, it was a unanimous vote that a make up item should win Friday Favourites. After thinking long and hard, looking through make up bags, the one product that turned up in every girlies bag in Bella Queen headquarters was EYE PRIMER.

Often overlooked and underused, eye primer is important to every girl worthy of her eyeshadow. It is the glue that holds your eye make up together and keeps it looking fresh and uncreased all day. It neutralises the colour of your eyelids and allows the true colour of your eyeshadow to show through. It can even improve the vibrancy of your eyeshadow colour. 

It is usually presented in a small compact or pot like eyeshadow and is typically of a creamy consistency. The best way to use is to apply directly on the eyelid after eye cream or moisturiser. A small amount goes a long way, so after applying with a small synthetic brush, blend in well before applying eyeshadow on top in your normal fashion.

Our top three eye primers are:



MAC Paint Pots - these come in a variety of colours including neutrals in small clear pots and you can get them in a matt or pearlescent finish.









Urban Decay Primer Potion - a favourite of many that comes in a bottle with a wand applicator. It dries instantly and you can put on your eyeshadow straight away. Beware that its packed full with silicones,which is what creates the silky finish. Available in neutral colours.





Shiseido Hydro-Powder Eyeshadow - these are cream eyeshadows that transform into long wearing powder finishes, therefore ideal to wear in combination with a powder eyeshadow. There aren't really any neautrals in the range, but you can match your eyeshadow colour to them to create an explosion of long lasting colour.

Do you wear eye primer? Are any of our top three in your make up bag? Let us know your favourite!

A/W 2010: Lipstick Rules!

Statement lips are back! and we at Bella Queen headquarters are VERY happy about that. The beauty counters are screaming with different shades of autumn reds and you'd be hard pushed not to find one you like. For the brave and bold, there are classic bright reds and for you who are just testing the waters, you can try out some deeper reds in plum, raspberry, aubergine or blackcurrant.

A precise lip application is best to make sure you're bang on trend. This means arming yourself with a lip pencil, lip brush and sharpener in addition YOUR signature red.

You can play with texture and tone, but make sure you are neat in application. Use the lip pencil to define your lips and draw on a deep cupid bow. It's hot and it's sexy. You can draw more attention to your lips by dabbing some highlighter on your cupid bow. Next use the lip brush to apply lipstick, blotting in between applications for a long lasting finish.

Matte or gloss finish, it's really up to you!

Quick Tip - make sure your lips are well moisturised before attempting the red lipstick look. Dry, flaked and cracked lips are a no-no!


Some images from Vogue.com & Shebreathes.com

A/W 2010: New Season Eyes

Excitement is building up here at Bella Queen headquarters as we move into the Autumn winter season. The weather is getting cooler, the leaves are changing colours and the kids are about to go back to school for the autumn term! and in the make up world, a new term has also started. So we thought, we take a look at what will be adorning our eyes this season.

Some images from Vogue.com

• Eyeliner is big this season. Whether your rocking the Kohl pencil or a liquid eyeliner, the key is to make it work for you. Grungy or super sleek, just let YOUR personality shine through. Wings, flicks or straight lines, it up to you.

• If you know us well, you'll know that we are very brow focused, so its great relief that the fashionistas are appreciating big and bold brows this season. Having said that, make sure they are also tamed and groomed. Fill in gaps with a brow powder palette or pencil and brush through with eyebrow gel to keep them in shape and place.

• Contoured eyes in a natural palette is going to be huge, so check out Edward Bess or Burberry make up for sophisticated neutrals. This season is not about Christmas lights colours, but sticking to a basic palette of browns - rich and luxury shades like mocha, caramel, latte, toffee. Use these to define eye sockets and define underneath eyes as well.

• Beauty editors are whispering about a 'no mascara' trend but unfortunately we disagree. If you want to follow the pack, go without (or maybe clear mascara) but for us, we'll still be coating our lashes in at least one coat of black for definition.   

Are you liking any of the make up trends for autumn/winter 2010? We'd love to hear from you.